The Charity Commission has closed a regulatory compliance case into a youth leadership charity after warning trustees about unauthorised payments to its chief executive and another senior employee earlier this year.
Its investigation into One Young World opened in September 2022 after concerns were raised over money paid to its CEO Kate Robertson, who was also a trustee at the time, and her daughter, Ella Robertson McKay, the charity’s managing director, who is responsible for the charity’s leadership summit and its operations.
One Young World, which hosts an annual youth leadership summit in cities around the globe and has been endorsed by politicians and celebrities, was issued with an official warning from the regulator in January 2024 after it found that bonus payments to Robertson and the salary of a connected employee were unauthorised.
But the commission has now decided to close its case after being assured by trustees that its official warning has been acted upon and concluding that the latest accounts submitted by the charity “do not give rise to new regulatory concerns”.
CEO and MD’s latest salaries published
One Young World’s latest accounts for the year ending 31 December 2023 show that CEO Robertson continued to be paid a similar salary following her decicion to step down as a trustee half way through the year.
Robertson received £224,000 in 2023, just under £1,000 less than over the previous year.
Meanwhile, Robertson McKay received £182,000 in 2023, a pay rise of over £65,000 compared with the preceding 12 months.
A short statement on a page introducing the accounts reads: “Kate Robertson’s remuneration is agreed by the non-conflicted trustees and the Charity Commission have granted authority allowing Kate Robertson’s salary for her role as chief executive officer while remaining a trustee.
“Kate Robertson resigned as a trustee on 19 July 2023. Ella Robertson McKay’s remuneration is agreed by the non-conflicted trustees,” it added.
Charity Commission: ‘Warning actions have been implemented’
A Charity Commission spokesperson said: “After engaging with trustees at One Young World, we have been assured that the actions set out in our official warning have been implemented, and our compliance case is now closed.
“The latest accounts submitted by the charity do not give rise to new regulatory concerns,” the spokesperson said. “As always, if we receive any new concerns, we will assess them in the normal way.
“The Charity Commission is not a regulator or controller of executive pay,” they added. ”However, we expect decisions made by trustees about pay to be made carefully, mindfully and in a way that ultimately serves the charity’s beneficiaries into the future with this in mind.”
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